Some computing devices (e.g., mobile phones, tablet computers) may provide a graphical keyboard as part of a graphical user interface for composing text (e.g., using a presence-sensitive input device and/or display, such as a touchscreen). The graphical keyboard may enable a user of the computing device to enter text (e.g., an e-mail, a text message, or a document). For instance, a display device of a computing device may output a graphical (or “soft”) keyboard that enables the user to enter data by selecting (e.g., by tapping or gesturing) one or more keys of the graphical keyboard.
In some cases, the computing device may present a graphical keyboard with which the user interacts by tapping individual keys of the keyboard or essentially gesturing out a word by sliding his or her finger over the regions associated with the keys. In this way, graphical keyboards provide an input method that allows the user to enter characters, words, or a group of words by one or more gestures. As such, a graphical keyboard may allow the user to achieve a certain degree of efficiency by quickly and accurately entering text.
A computing device that provides a graphical keyboard may utilize word prediction, auto-correction, and/or suggestion techniques for determining a word from a user input. These techniques may speed up text entry and reduce mistakes of character strings in a predetermined vocabulary (e.g., a dictionary). One or more of the techniques may have certain drawbacks, however. For instance, in some examples, a computing device that provides a graphical keyboard and relies on one or more of the techniques may not correctly determine character strings with non-alphabetic characters (e.g., numbers, punctuation marks, or other symbols) that were intended by the user from user input. As such, a user may need to perform additional effort to enter characters and/or words that include numbers, punctuation marks, or other symbols.